E te iwi ma tena koutou,
Me penei noa taku kii: Taria te moko o te mana Maori ki te ata ramarama, e whaowhina anohia ai he ao ke moku. Ka mutu, he mana nui to te ao kiriata. Kia apiti atu ko to taua to te mana Maori, e nui ano ai taua ao kiriata.
Film is about telling a story that has been seen and retold through the eyes of the director. Anyone can tell a story about Maori, but only a Maori can tell a Maori story. It is an ordinary human right for there to be a way for Maori to have control over the camera. It may be lofty to consider filmmaking as a human right. But to suppress the voice of anyone in any arena of communication is a denial of rights. It is also true that any rights (human ones in particular) have to be earned and guarded from harm.
Te Paepae Ataata started as an idea nearly a decade ago. The vision was to find a way to make movies that were Maori in conception, production and (eventually) distribution. It took several years for the idea to take shape and it’s been a functioning entity for about three years now. From the outset we have concentrated on script development. It is the central activity in feature film production. A terrific script unlocks everything required to make a movie. Interest from actors, crew and funders in a script is the vital first step towards production.
We embarked upon the process of assessing the scripts that came before us. (for full story, click on 'About Us')